“No Police officer comes into work any day and wants to discharge a Taser”

Monday 26 October 2020

One of Jersey's senior Police officers has moved to reassure islanders that if the rules are changed to allow more of his colleagues to use Tasers, it will be done in a “proportionate” way.

Next month, the island's politicians will debate calls to allow all officers who have completed a 5-day National Standard Taser Course to use the weapon, rather than just authorised Firearms Officers.

Talking to Express, Chief Inspector Mark Hafey explained that this would allow officers to react more quickly in situations where they judged Tasers to be necessary, such as instances of violence, or self-harm. 

As it currently stands, officers first have to liaise with the Control Room to see if authorised Firearms Officers can be deployed.

Pictured: Police can currently only use Tasers in Jersey if they are an authorised Firearms Officer. 

Talking about the number of Police officers who would carry Tasers under the new rules, the Chief Inspector said: “We’re only looking to train 20 officers out of a force of 210. To have 20 Taser-trained officers is in my view very proportionate” - there would be two officers for each of the five operational teams, to make sure there are two officers with Tasers on duty 24 hours a day. 

The Chief Inspector added: “no police officer comes into work any day and wants to discharge Taser, that’s not what they want to do, that’s not why they’re trained in the use of that weapon. 

“They put themselves forward to be trained as volunteers only and they know that it’s an effective tool for keeping the public, themselves and the individuals safe.”

He also cited a change in trends as a reason for expanding the use of Tasers, documenting a 22% rise in 'Spontaneous Firearms Incidents' in Jersey in the last three years, which includes combatting weapons like knives and bats as well as guns.

Pictured: Chief Inspector Mark Hafey said that he could "never say never" in regards to Taser use on under-18s or those with mental health issues. 

However, the proposition has drawn questions too - an amendment has been proposed by the Scrutiny Panel for Children, Education and Home Affairs, who have signalled their concerns with the new rules, over how it will affect under-18s and the mentally vulnerable. 

The amendment states that the changes should only be implemented as a one-year trial period, and that at the end of the year, a review should come out that details: 

• the number of times a Taser has been used on a person under the age of 18.
• The number of times a Taser has been used to resolve a situation involving a person undergoing a mental health crisis or episode.
• A breakdown of the gender, age, and cultural and ethnic groups of the people on whom a Taser has been used.
• The number of times a Taser has been deployed by a police officer who is on their own.

Should tasers be used on children and young people? The UN Committee has made a clear recommendation that the use of Tasers on children should be prohibited https://t.co/h4b043X0cX

— Deborah McMillan - Children's Commissioner (@ChildComJersey) August 17, 2020

In response to these concerns, the Chief Inspector agreed that, “...there needs to be a presumption that the police will not Taser anyone who is displaying mental health symptoms or indeed a young person under the age of 18,” but that “we can simply never say never.”

“On occasion, a negotiation may break down - and if that negotiation breaks down, and at that point if someone who’s maybe suffering from the effects of mental health decides to take their life or do an act which could cause them harm or a member of the public harm, then police have a duty to act – and the Taser gives us that extra option that we can use to act.” 

Pictured: Home Affairs Minister Constable Len Norman brought forward the proposition to change the law on Tasers.

In the past six years, there have been 341 ‘uses’ of Taser. However, the term ‘use’ in this instance is broad, meaning that even an officer informing someone they have a Taser counts as 'usage.' 

Of the 341 uses across the past six years, there have been: 

• 181 instances of the Taser being drawn from the holster.
• 152 instances where the red dot laser was placed on someone.
• 8 occasions where the Taser was actually discharged.

The Police are hoping to replace their current batch of 13 Tasers with 15 new models, which the Chief Inspector described as being much more “Human Rights compliant,” as they will automatically react and adjust their intensity dependent on how calm the individual is. 

The States Assembly will debate the proposition and its amendment on 3 November.